One More Thing to Consider When you Move

When you move you have so much to do and keep track of. This is especially true if you are moving across state lines. One thing people often forget to consider is their will.

Will you have to redo your will if you move to a new State? The answer isn’t as simple as yes or no.

Probate System

 Your will is a court document that controls the probate court system. Probate court systems vary from State to State and your will is drafted to govern the probate system in the particular State that it’s drafted in. If you create a Minnesota will, it is created using Minnesota statutes and using Minnesota’s court system best practices.

If the will was created legally and was validly signed in the other State, Minnesota would respect that will.  It would get submitted; it would be admissible to the court system. But that doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly. A will created in another State will follow that State’s statutes and will be drafted and designed to work in that State’s court system. That could create some hurdles and roadblocks as it works its way through the Minnesota probate system.

How will it work its way through the Minnesota system? A Minnesota lawyer is going to have to interpret it. More likely than not, that Minnesota lawyer will outsource it to a lawyer from the original State, and bill that expense back to your family. So you just gave your family a much more complex, much more expensive probate by not updating that will.

Is it Worth it to Rework the Will

The will from a different State will be admissible. It will be much more complex and expensive for your family to execute it.

Because of that, we almost universally recommend that if you’re planning on staying in a State for an extended period of time, update your legal documents under that State’s laws. Redo your will. If you move to Minnesota, redo your will. If you move out of Minnesota, redo your will.